-posted by Jayne

I know we're getting down to the end of the Holiday gift buying frenzy... but many of you are still wondering what to get those special people in your life.  I thought I might offer up a quick list of some of my favorite things I have received in the past, along with some things I will be gifting this year.  If you've already completed your shopping, you can always keep these ideas handy for birthdays and future Christmas gifts.

For the Gardener:


The A.M. Leonard Classic Stainless Steel Soil Knife
I received one of these for Christmas several years back and I love it!  It is extremely strong and won't bend back or break in areas of tough clay soil.  The side of the knife has a serrated edge to help cut off unwanted side shoots from trees or shrubs, and the bright orange handle really helps me because I am always losing my trowels.  I actually had to buy a second one because I lost it for a few weeks, but now I am happy to have two (I found it again!).

You could always pair this with a nice bar of Gardener's soap from Honeyrun Farm (wink).

For the Kids:

Handmade toys from Mountain Craft Shop Co.
We stumbled upon this fellow beekeeper/woodcrafter at the Bob Evans Festival in Rio Grande, Ohio, this past fall.  They have a wonderful collection of old-timey toys that are handmade in West Virginia.  They are really reasonably priced and in my personal experience, wooden toys like these last much longer than the plastic junk available in most department stores these days (I sound like such a curmudgeon).  My favorite is the walking duck toy (only 13.95) but my kids really love the Jacob's ladder.  We're giving one of the pop guns as a gift this year for my 4 year old nephew and I know it will be a hit because I can't get my own kids to stop playing with it.

For the Beekeeper:  

Every true hardworking beekeeper will go through equipment over the course of a year.  Isaac wears holes through his gloves and needs them replaced at least once a year.  I am not going to spoil any gift ideas here, but some logical gifts for beekeepers are beekeeping gloves, honey-B-healthy, or a magazine subscription to Bee Culture or American Beekeeping Journal.  For the aspiring beekeeper, why not give the gift of a beekeeping class?  For our local readers, the Scioto Valley Beekeepers offer a class each Spring, and now is the time to sign up.  The cost is $50 and includes a workbook, instructional materials, and a one year membership in the club.


For the the Locavore:

For those who like to eat locally- A gift subscription to Edible Columbus.
This is a great magazine that continually inspires new ways to source local food, prepare meals with local ingredients, and tells us more about the farmers and producers in central Ohio.  Every foodie who aspires to eat locally would love having it delivered to their doorstep.  The  past issue featured an article about my good friend Rachel Najjar and her farm, Prairie Field Farm.  She is so talented!

These are just a few ideas, and as you know, we have a lot of gift options with our honey products in our Etsy store.  This year some of our most popular new items have been the lip balms and salves, paired with a small soap and honey.  We now offer a variety package of 8 jars, each 2 oz of honey.  This includes Spring, Summer, Fall, Buckwheat, Tulip Poplar, Lemon Verbena Infused, Lavender Infused, and a Chunk Honey (pictured below).  





There is still time to get these items shipped out.  We plan to close our online store on Sunday Dec. 21st, as we head up north to spend time with Family.  We will re-open the store on Dec. 25th.


Have a wonderful holiday season and thank-you for all the continued support of our business!